I did like this book and honestly I had never seen anything like it elsewhere. But I will say sometimes the wording made the story a bit difficult to follow and I felt I had to reread a few things. I do recommend this story though! I loved the slow burn and multiple POV.

I truly enjoyed this atmospheric conclusion the Sylvia Cathrall Luminous Duology. A letter from the Lonesome Shore is a treasure chest of water imagery, pining, two awkward and loving souls who stumble into a mysterious and unexpected world.

I truly recommend this duology to everyone who loves a cozy sea vibe.

This series is truly nothing I’ve ever read before. While I don’t think the sequel had me as riveted as the first, I still floated through it quickly, wanting to see the mysteries unravel and see the characters through their journey. I’m eager to read anything this author has on the horizon now!

I love epistolary novels, so I thoroughly enjoyed this duology. A Letter from the Lonesome Shore was a wonderful follow up and I loved the slow burn romance. I read this quickly, but really didn't want it to end!

I gave this duology two tries but I think the nature of the narrative style means that the author is needed to do some narrative gymnastics that did not work for me. Maybe another time.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sylvie Cathrall, and Orbit for allowing me access to the e-arc.

3.5 stars

I thought the concept of the story was fascinating. I wanted to know more about the place where the characters ended up. I enjoyed the different POVs that were presented. I was confused at some points due to the constant changes in who was writing. I felt like the ending was odd. It almost seemed like there were going to be more books in this world. I was hoping to see E. and Henerey living their lives together. But there was only a snippet of their domestic living.

4/5 stars
Recommended if you like: light academia, epistolary narrative, multiple POVs, mental illness rep

This review has been posted to Goodreads as of 2/10 and will be posted to my review blog 2/13 and to Instagram 3/21.

....I'm not really sure where to begin. I don't think I disliked this book, but I'm not really sure I liked it either. I enjoyed A Letter to the Luminous Deep quite a bit, though I had forgotten how the verbiage used in it could make it difficult to read at times (who talks like that?), so I was excited to get an ARC of the sequel.

Luminous Deep and this book have some similarities that I enjoyed. For one, the epistolary narrative continues. We get insight into the various characters we already know and are introduced to some new characters as well. Some of these new characters have an interesting way of writing and chronicling things that I found interesting and I wish their conventions had been included a little more. Since the narrative is told through letters the same kind of fancy (and sometimes convoluted) writing is used as in the first book. I admittedly struggled a bit more with the writing style in this one than I did in Luminous Deep. It did make some parts unnecessarily complicated. Aside from the word choice, I found some of the syntax overly formal and stilted as well, particularly when a letter was describing a conversation. E. and Henerey in particular seemed to have some stilted conversations, and I felt an emotional distance there that I didn't feel in the first book. I was rooting for E. and Henerey in the first book, but here I felt kind of meh about it.

Another similarity between the two books was the light academia aspect. This was quite prevalent in Luminous Deep, with Sophy, Vyerin, and Henerey all being Scholars and E., while not being a scholar, being quite curious and knowledgeable about a wide range of things. We don't really get to see that side of E. and Henerey here, but we do get to see Sophy and Vyerin putting some of their Scholar skills to work investigating how to find and/or construct another Entry. That being said, I do wish we got more focus on what Sophy and Vyerin were doing since it seemed quite interesting and relevant, but we only really get to see snippets of it.

Like with Luminous Deep there are two plotlines in this novel: one focusing on E. and Henerey, and one focusing on Sophy and Vyerin. E. and Henerey's storyline ended prior to Luminous Deep and in that book we're left wondering what became of them. This book has an answer to that mystery and we get a better look at what really went down and what the Entries do. We also get a better look at E.'s struggles with her mental health. There's clearly something deeper going on, but there's a (frustrating) cone of silence regarding discussing what's going on, which for some reason Henerey and E. just kind of accept.

The second plotline follows Sophy and Vyerin, which I enjoyed somewhat more. For some reason that group's dynamic feels more natural and there's less of the stilted conversation we see occurring with E. and Henerey. As I mentioned above, I would've liked a deeper look at how they were finding the Entries and what they were doing with them. It seems like there was a lot of experimentation going on there, but it mostly occurs off-page. We do get some answers, in part thanks to the pushing of Sophy and Vyerin (as well as of their teammates).

This, in my opinion, is not a duology that requires some kind of epic 'big bad.' The light academia and focus on family and mental health would've been enough. However, we discover in this book that the the Predator the Fleet discussed is an actual Predator and not just a metaphor for something. Considering we don't learn much about it until after the 50% mark, I'm really feeling like it wasn't needed. It certainly didn't add anything to the book.

And the message here is...unideal. I can't really get into it without spoiling the book, but why in all hells is that how they avoided the Predator? In the age of rising anti-intellectualism, why make a similar stance what saves the day? I suppose I can't really be surprised. In hindsight the manner in which Cathrall writes about the Campuses is very clearly one of dislike. I had initially thought it was showing the extremes of academia and how that might show up in an imperfect world ruled by the desire to continuously discover/produce new things. However, in light of this book, I have to assume the depiction of the Campuses is not an exaggerated view of real problems in academia but rather a reflection of intense dislike of academia and a desire to portray that dislike in a justified manner. As someone who enjoys learning for fun, it turned me off. Also, how boring for everyone who knows the truth. What are you supposed to do with the rest of your life? It seems like things would get really boring really quickly.

I don't really have a solid grasp on what I think of this book. I didn't dislike it but didn't entirely like it. I enjoyed Luminous Deep but am honestly not sure if I'll buy a physical copy of this book when it comes out. It just kind of floats along and nothing particularly happens on the E./Henerey side of things until later in the book. Also, the emotions that were depicted between E./Henerey in the first book feel removed in this one and I had trouble reconnecting with the two emotionally.

A 5 star Duology!

"A Letter from the Lonesome Shore" is an astounding follow up to "A Letter to the Luminous Deep" and one of my favorite duologies/series/stories in a long time! I was ecstatic to receive an arc as it was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and it truly did not disappoint!

The story is crafted expertly in an epistolary style through the correspondence of letters between the main characters. In this final installment, we follow E and Henerey as they embark on a journey in a new world, as well as Sophy and Vyerin as they continue their search for their missing siblings.

I cannot emphasize enough how captivating the 2nd book was! I could not put it down, and read the entire thing in 3 days. I. also had no clue where this was going, and was delighted by the sci-fi-ness of it all near the end.

One thing I cannot stress enough is that this has the absolute sweetest romance. I love how shy E and Henerey are with their feelings, and this is truly one of the the most wholesome love stories I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I also think the author's depiction of severe anxiety is the most accurate I've ever encountered. The author also include all types of romantic pairings in the book, which feel so natural to the story and the world. She includes M/F, F/F, and M/M romances as well as a character that is aromantic, making it the perfect read for anyone no matter what they are looking for.

Overall, this duology was the perfect read for me and I highly recommend it!

5/5 stars

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Orbit books for providing me an arc (of one of the best books of the year) in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to all for the opportunity to read this book! I loved "A Letter to the Luminous Deep" and was excited to get access to part 2 of the story. It was great to catch up with E and Henerey and follow their discoveries of a new world. Some of the new characters were very well drawn and fascinating. I have two quibbles with the book that kept me from giving it 5 stars though. I thought the first part--E and Henerey learning about the new world--went on too long. I also found that the new scholars were hard to distinguish and I didn't fully understand their motivations or their lives--and maybe since they were numbered and not named that was the point? Anyway, beautiful world building and I loved the diversity in the characters and the ending was quite satisfying.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

What a stunning conclusion to this duology. Cathrall once again captures a sense of sweetness and innocence that makes the story feel so special. I loved how the author continued to use letters to narrate key moments, adding an emotional depth that resonated just as strongly as in the first book.

Watching E and Henerey’s relationship grow as they navigated the challenges of the new world was incredibly rewarding, though I do wish we had seen more of their life on the island—perhaps through an epilogue. The physical location of the world they discovered also left me slightly puzzled. I thought I understood it, but the time difference made me question whether they were still on the same planet or somewhere entirely new. The concept of the predator, the illogical woman, and the oceanic space was fascinating and added a unique layer to the story.

Overall, I’m sad to say goodbye to these characters, but I’ll definitely be looking out for more from this author in the future!